Tom Hayes, Associated Press Published Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 9:11 PM EDT Last Updated on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, 10:54 PM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) – R. Kelly, the R&B superstar known for her anthem “I Believe I Can Fly”, deserves at least 25 years behind bars for sexually abusing women and girls, prosecutors said in a note Wednesday before his sentence later this month.
A jury in New York found Kelly guilty of racketeering and numerous other charges last year during a sex trafficking trial seen as a landmark in the #MeToo movement. Prosecutors say the entourage of managers and assistants who helped Kelly meet girls – and keep them obedient – is a criminal enterprise.
Several prosecutors testified in appalling detail during the trial, claiming that Kelly subjected his victims to perverse and sadistic whims when they were minors.
Kelly used his “fame, money and popularity” to “prey on children and young women for their own sexual gratification,” prosecutors said in a statement.
“He continued his crimes and escaped punishment for almost 30 years and must now be held accountable,” prosecutors wrote.
Kelly’s lawyers say he deserves only a maximum of about 17 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
Among the many heinous accusations, jurors heard testimony about a fraudulent marriage scheme devised to protect Kelly after he feared fertilizing the R&B phenomenon Alia in 1994, when she was just 15. Witnesses said they they were married in appropriate jogging suits, using a license that falsely stated her age. as 18; he was 27 at the time.
Alia worked with Kelly, who wrote and produced her 1994 debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number. She died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22.
The defense’s competitive note offers prosecutors’ arguments for a higher sentence, exceeded by the false claim that Kelly was involved in bribing a “public aid officer to present an ID card” that allowed the sham marriage to move forward.
Kelly’s lawyers also said it was wrong to say he should have been given more time because he sexually assaulted one of his victims – listed in court as “Jane” – after her parents innocently told him to help her with music. her career.
“The record shows that Jane’s parents made Jane lie to the defendant about her age and then encouraged her to seduce him,” the newspaper said.
Kelly, 55, will be convicted on June 29.
Add Comment